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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28697325">Mercy in the Dark</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flamesong/pseuds/Flamesong'>Flamesong</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>RWBY</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Domestic Fluff, F/F, F/M, Hazel backstory, Light Angst, Multi, Summer Rose (RWBY) Lives, Team STRQ Era (RWBY), nobody needs to die today</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 08:22:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,332</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28697325</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flamesong/pseuds/Flamesong</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, being there for someone can make all the difference. Summer Rose knows that too well, after the painful beginning to her first year at Beacon Academy. Sometimes, being there for someone when they needed you can be the difference between life and death. </p>
<p>But there's another lesson that's just as important, and infinitely more agonizing. Sometimes, the most critical action of all is to <em>not</em> be there for those you love.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Raven Branwen/Summer Rose, Raven Branwen/Summer Rose/Taiyang Xiao Long, Summer Rose/Taiyang Xiao Long</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Welcome to Beacon. As you all are about to be aware, my name is Forsythe Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy, and if you ever repeat that first name in my presence you will be either A, expelled, or B, promoted to assistant headmaster. Needless to say, neither of these options is very good for you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The aforementioned Professor Ozpin stands at the edge of Beacon cliff, pacing back and forth in front of a line of students with a mug in his hand. Summer Rose looks around at the faces near her, all unfamiliar except for two. “I think that mug is empty,” she whispers to her friend Gretchen. “Pretty sure he’s just pretending to drink from it for show.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Gretchen replies. “He starts talking again too soon after a sip.” She fidgets a little, unsure of herself in the upcoming initiation, details of which they </span>
  <em>
    <span>still</span>
  </em>
  <span> haven’t received after more than twenty-four hours on Beacon grounds. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her brother sidles up to them both with his own observation. “I don’t think his hair’s really white either,” Hazel whispers. “Look at the roots. He’s a redhead, but he dyes it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The white looks good though,” Summer points out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’s immediately met with Gretchen making a face. “It didn’t work for my uncle and it doesn’t work for him. With that black suit it just makes him look like a Grimm.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Summer chuckles at the thought, that somehow a creature of Grimm could take human form and lead an Academy dedicated to wiping out its own kind. She stifles it as some of the other students glare at her, but she can’t help but notice the resemblance to old Rufous Rainart. Ages ago, he and his sister – Hazel and Gretchen’s mother – had been on a team together at Haven Academy with Summer’s mother, and their families had been close friends ever since. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All three of them look up at Professor Ozpin as he clears his throat after a long lecture that none of them can recall a word of. “Now, I’m sure you’re all curious about the initiation,” he begins again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Finally,” Gretchen whispers. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your task will be to find the ancient temple on the far side of the forest, retrieve a relic from it, and return to the top of the cliff. There </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> creatures of Grimm in the forest. They will not go easy on you because you are a student. I, and some of the other professors, will be monitoring your progress, but we will </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> intervene. It is therefore in your interest to find a combat partner quickly, and as such, your partner shall be the first person you lock eyes with down below. Choose wisely.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He halts his pacing suddenly with a new thought. “Oh, and since I’ve been asked this question in the future and I expect to keep hearing it in the past, yes, you will be launched from your current position directly into the forest below. You will use whatever landing strategy you feel is appropriate. If you do not yet have a landing strategy, I suggest you think of one quickly.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seeing the queasy look of a dark-haired boy near her, Summer steps over to introduce herself. “Hey,” she says. “You going to be okay? I’m Summer, what’s your name?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Crow,” the boy replies. “With a Q. It’s weird, I know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nice scythe you got there. Let me guess, you’re going to hook it over a branch to swing down slowly?” Summer proposes a landing strategy, just in case her hunch about his unpreparedness was right. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Crow-with-a-Q rolls his eyes. “With my luck, the branch would just break clean through and drop me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Both startle at a noise behind them, and see the first of their future classmates flying into the air as the panels beneath them catapult upward. “Welp, guess it’s time. You’ll do fine, I know it.” Summer flashes him a grin, and prepares herself on the center of her own panel. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Suddenly, a red line slices downward through the air and widens into an oval of swirling crimson clouds, and a black-haired girl steps out next to Crow. “Land safe,” she tells him. “Or don’t. Just stay alive or I won’t be able to portal back to you and finish my own landing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You launched already?” Summer asks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who’s this? Are you making </span>
  <em>
    <span>friends</span>
  </em>
  <span> here, Qrow?” The girl finally seems to take an interest in Summer. “Name’s Raven, and yeah. Didn’t much feel like falling all the way on my own, so I’ll let my idiot brother do it for me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Summer’s eyes widen, but probably not for the reason Raven expects. “There are </span>
  <em>
    <span>two</span>
  </em>
  <span> sets of twins at Beacon this year? That’s pretty cool. Have you met the Rainarts? They’re right over… oh.” She starts to point, but her friends are already in the air and her own turn is rapidly approaching. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Raven laughs. “I think you’ll find the Branwens are the superior set of twins. Even if half the pair </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> dead weight for me to carry.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Summer starts to respond and tell her she should be nicer to her brother, but the platform beneath her feet springs upward before she gets a chance. Suddenly, she’s soaring through the air with trees passing by down below. For a few scant moments she can see clearings between the trees and she scans each one for signs of the old temple Ozpin mentioned, and then she’s falling too fast to pay them any attention. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She swings her glaive off her back and unfolds it, and streamlines her body as she plummets down into the forest below. </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Summer pushes away a branch and steps out into a clearing. In front of her stone pillars rise in an arc around a small plaza; in a smaller ring inside, a collection of pedestals. Just behind her, Raven Branwen follows, blade still at the ready after their last encounter with the Grimm. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is this it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll check it out,” Raven says tersely. “The sooner we find it and </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> wakes the fuck up, the sooner we can set everything to rights and get out of here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Raven, please…” Summer sighs. “I know you wanted to partner with your brother, despite, apparently, hating him. You can pretend that’s what happened, but you know they’ve been watching us. They know. But remember, there’s four people to a team. You can still be with each other. It’s not my fault I ran into you before he woke up.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She follows Raven to the edge of the enclosed courtyard, and pauses. “Wait, why am </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> the one carrying him, anyway? He’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>your</span>
  </em>
  <span> brother.” She slings the unconscious Qrow off her shoulder and lays him down on the cold stone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re doing such a good job of it, don’t stop now.” Raven inspects something over on the pedestals. “But take a look at this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Summer comes over to see a collection of small square tiles, each printed with a simple image. One or two on each pedestal, in matching pairs. She makes a slow circle around to see them all: on one side of the courtyard a staff, a sword, a book, a skull, a lamp… on the other a fist, a gear, a ring, a bow, and a crown. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are these supposed to be the ‘relics’ Ozpin talked about? Looks like a few are missing. We’re not the first ones here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Raven snorts. “He could have mentioned they were </span>
  <em>
    <span>pictures</span>
  </em>
  <span> of relics. Guess we should pick one.” She hovers around the pair of sword tiles, but moves on without taking one. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Summer grabs a crown tile and returns to her partner’s side. “How about this one?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whatever.” Raven shrugs. “Grab the other one too. Stick it in Qrow’s pocket. I bet matching pairs is how they put partners together into teams.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Summer takes the other crown as well, but as she kneels over her partner’s brother, a rustle of movement in the trees catches her attention. Thankfully, it’s not another Grimm. They’ve fought too many today already – honestly, Summer’s hardly ever seen it this bad so close to Vale. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s Hazel, with two other students Summer doesn’t recognize. A boy with shaggy blonde hair and long metal claws strapped to each wrist, and a girl in a pale pink dress carrying a Dust-powered staff. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hazel, you made it!” Summer calls. “One of these two your new partner?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m with Dawn here,” Hazel replies, pointing to the girl beside him. “This is Tai, he hasn’t found anyone yet.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Starting to think everyone else has paired up without me,” Tai says. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Summer waves him over. “Well, lucky you! I’ve got your new partner right here. I’m Summer, by the way. That’s my partner Raven.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tai kneels down by Qrow as well and puts a hand on his shoulder. “Is he okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As if on cue, Qrow finally stirs and blinks his eyes open. He looks up into Tai’s blue eyes and slurs out the words, “You’re not Raven.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, would you look at that,” Raven calls out. “True love’s touch wakes the sleeping beauty. Sorry, Tai, looks like he’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>your</span>
  </em>
  <span> problem now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What… happened?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The fool hit his head on a branch on his way down and managed to knock himself out. We dragged him all the way here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow. Must be a lucky charm, this one, to be found by you two like that.” Tai helps Qrow to his feet. “I’ll gladly take that on my team.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You couldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>possibly</span>
  </em>
  <span> be any more wrong,” Raven tells him. “But I guess you’re our fourth. Welcome to Team… Rust, I guess? Better than Team Rats.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Qrow, still with one hand to his injured head, glares at her. “Hey, where am I in that lineup?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your name starts with Q. How many color names have a </span>
  <em>
    <span>Q</span>
  </em>
  <span> in them? You’ve got to expect to be left out of something like this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Summer leaves the three of them to join her one existing friend instead, and she shows him the crown tile she picked up. “So, what are you thinking? Lots of weird little relic-squares to choose from.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re here to fight, aren’t we?” Hazel reaches for a tile of his own. “We’ll take a sword.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His partner glances up from the next pedestal over, where she’d been comparing the staff icons to the one in her hands. If she has a preference, she keeps it to herself, content to go with Hazel’s reasoning instead. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, we all might as well head back to the cliffs,” Summer suggests. “If I can keep those two from bickering long enough to get them there.” She nods toward Raven and Qrow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good luck. Though, before you go…” Hazel’s eyebrows lower into an expression of concern. “Have any of you seen Gretchen since you landed?”</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Summer? You okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A voice snaps Summer out of her trancelike state, staring at the dorm room wall. “Huh? Yeah, I’m fine, I guess…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t look very fine,” Tai says. “Is there anything I can do to help?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Summer lets out a deep sigh. “I knew Gretchen practically all my life,” she says. “She and Hazel were always over at my house, or I was at theirs. And now…” She looks to Tai helplessly. “How could Ozpin let this happen? I know, he </span>
  <em>
    <span>told</span>
  </em>
  <span> us all he wouldn’t intervene, but… I didn’t think he’d just let a student </span>
  <em>
    <span>die</span>
  </em>
  <span> during </span>
  <em>
    <span>initiation!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t think any of us did. I didn’t know her, but…” Tai looks up sharply at a knock on the door, and goes to open it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s Hazel in the doorway, alone. Tai waves him in, and Summer gets up to give him a big hug the moment he enters. “I wanted to tell you,” he begins before Summer can say anything of her own. “I’m dropping out of Beacon. I still want to be a Huntsman, but I… I can’t be at a school run by that madman.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh.” Summer pulls back, but leaves one hand on Hazel’s shoulder. “I’ll miss you, but… I understand. I’ll visit on breaks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve just been to see the school counselor, Professor Destiny Flame. She also teaches Grimm Studies, apparently, so you’ll see her a lot. But you really should talk to her one on one.” Hazel takes a step toward one of the beds as if to sit, then reconsiders. “She opened my eyes to some things. Not just about myself, but about Ozpin and the way this place is run. He’s got a history, let me just say that much.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Summer nods solemnly. “Are you transferring to another Academy?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not this year. Maybe next near I’ll try Shade. Right now, I just… I need some time, that’s all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Take as much as you need. We’ll be here if you need us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A friend of Summer’s is a friend of the team,” Tai chimes in. “Well, except maybe Raven. She doesn’t seem too keen on the concept of friends in general.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And,” Summer adds, “as we all found out last night…” She goes over to one desk and picks up a foil-wrapped circular pan. “Tai can bake an </span>
  <em>
    <span>excellent</span>
  </em>
  <span> pie. Go on, take a slice, you look like you need it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She presses a plastic fork and knife into her friend’s hand and guides him to a seat, and within short minutes a smile has returned to all their faces. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow,” Hazel says as he sets down the fork on an empty plate and gazes out the window across the table from him. “You better keep this one around, Summer. Marry him for his baked goods.” He winks at Tai. “Or else I might have to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As Tai recoils, Summer only laughs. “I’ve got him for four years, at least. And I might just have to challenge him for top baker of the team. You know my chocolate chip cookies, Hazel. What do you think?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, that’s a tossup.” Hazel shrugs. “What about the rest of your team? You all getting along okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tai wiggles his hand in a so-so gesture. “We’ll get there,” he says. “But if you’re leaving Beacon, what’s happening with your partner? Dawn, was it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hazel’s face falls. “Dawn will be filling Gretchen’s spot on her team,” he announces. “It’s funny, actually, they’re the ones who took the staff tiles during initiation. That’s the one Dawn was looking at, before I picked up the sword instead.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“While the other two who took a sword, I ran into them earlier,” Tai says. “Peter Port and Poppy Green. They’ve been reassigned with Glynda Goodwitch and Barty Oobleck. A lamp for those two, apparently. They’re team GPPB now. Guppy with a B. Guppby?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And we’re Stark,” Summer adds, “though sometimes it doesn’t feel like the R is very interested. But she’s partnered with </span>
  <em>
    <span>me,</span>
  </em>
  <span> so there’s really no escaping the friendship and hugs and cookies. She’ll come around.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Unless she doesn’t, and we have to call Hazel back here to fill in for her.” Tai claps his new friend on the shoulder. “You heard Professor Mulberry calls us after the assembly. With his accent it already sounded like team Stahhhk.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Summer bursts out laughing. “True, but what if something happens to </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> instead? We could have a team Shark!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shtark?” Hazel offers as a compromise. “Though really, I need some distance from this place. And from </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ozpin.</span>
  </em>
  <span> It’s all </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> fault the other teachers can’t step in, you know. Professor Flame can tell you all about it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He glances down at his watch, and startles. “Oh, I’ve got to run, actually. I’m booked on a shuttle down to Vale city, and all my stuff’s already there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All three stand, and Summer hugs Hazel again before he can slip away. Tai is close behind to do the same, and he wraps up the remaining pie to make sure Hazel doesn’t get away without it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Be safe, Summer. All of you.” Hazel gives the pair a nod and turns to leave. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You too, Hazel. I’ll see you in a couple months, I guess? Or you can visit Beacon any time you like.” </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Summer Rose had thought she had a normal life. Normal for a huntress, anyway. She had a family: a husband, a wife, and a brother-in-law from her old Beacon team, and of course Yang and Ruby. For many years, things were good. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There’s the business with Ozpin, of course. Quite a shock, when he’d introduced them to actual, real </span>
  <em>
    <span>magic</span>
  </em>
  <span> in their third year. Another shock when it turned out Professor Flame had been a spy for Salem the entire time. In retrospect though, at least that one made sense. She taught Grimm Studies </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> the fourth-year elective Esoteric Grimm, and she was damn good at it. Must have learned directly from the source. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oz turning Qrow and Raven into birds was pretty cool, and they’d even managed to remake a few of their team attacks to incorporate that new ability in the field. It did take them away from home more, always out spying or on some other mission, but at least Summer still had Tai with her. That’s the nice thing about a triad, any of them can step out on business for a while and nobody is left lonely in their absence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Except after Raven left. The moment she was able to, she left the newborn Yang with Tai and fled to who knows where. Probably back to her tribe, if Summer had to guess. The only goodbye she got was a single black feather left on her pillow. Since then, she often </span>
  <em>
    <span>has</span>
  </em>
  <span> been lonely. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But it’s been seven years since the team lost a member. A different life, with a hard period of adjustment in the beginning, but she and Tai have made things work again. Yang and Ruby are just in elementary school, but already they’re showing signs of wanting to be Huntresses when they grow up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Summer had really thought the past was all behind her. Things were so peaceful, at least by the standards of people involved in a shadowy war against unceasing forces of chaos. But the letter she holds in her hands is proof that even the oldest things can still one day return. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Summer,</span>
  </em>
  <span> the letter reads, </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Are you alone? I am writing this letter to you at great personal risk to myself. I need to speak to you urgently, about matters I dare not put into writing. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Let nobody know about this message, not even those closest to you. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Even the slightest glance could put someone at risk. Protect your team and your family. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Messages like this one are not allowed, where I am now. I have stepped out for a moment, with an assignment to complete. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What am I going to do?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A lot is being asked of me, and I must ask a lot of you as well. I’m sorry. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No details until we see each other face to face. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The place can be where it all began. Where you had a choice, and I was set toward destruction. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Squares and pictures, nothing more. But we both work with the real, now. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You remember? Come as soon as you can. As soon as you are ready. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ozpin must know nothing. Please. If he ever finds out, it could cost both of us dearly. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Unfortunately, I must end here. I’ll see you soon. In friendship, H.R.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s perfectly clear to her who the sender is, and at what location he wants to meet her. But why? What has scared him so much, that he’d send something like this? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Summer folds the letter again and goes to find Tai. He’s in their bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed and looking at his scroll. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” he greets her as she enters. “What’s up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I got a letter from an old friend today,” Summer says, holding up the single sheet of folded paper. “He’s not saying much but I can tell he’s in trouble. I’m going to try and help, but first… could you burn this for me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tai’s eyebrows shoot up. “You sure you’re not going to need it again? What’s in there, anyway?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Summer hesitates. “It’s… I wish I could say.” She sighs deeply. “If all this is to be believed, then anyone who reads this is in danger. Please, just…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tai nods solemnly, and takes the letter as Summer hands it over. A thought to his semblance, and his next breath comes out as a narrow jet of fire to consume the paper. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks. I guess starting tomorrow I’ve got another mission. Hopefully it won’t take too long, this time.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hopefully not,” Tai echoes. “Yang was wearing me out with the board games earlier. I’m not sure how much more I can take.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well,” Summer says, throwing an arm around him, “how about we both call it an early night?”</span>
</p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>The forest temple. Down below the cliffs and out a good few miles, perfectly deserted and a prime choice for a clandestine meeting. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Such a prime choice, actually, that it was a little annoying fighting through the Grimm to get here. On days like this Summer wishes </span>
  <em>
    <span>she’d</span>
  </em>
  <span> been given the ability to fly as well. For a moment, she thinks she’s actually arrived here first, or maybe even got the wrong spot. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But just as she’s about to sit down on one of the short pedestals that ring the main plaza, there is a stir of movement and from the shadows comes a face she hasn’t seen in years. Her old friend Hazel, taller than she remembers and a lot more muscular, but still the same boy she grew up with. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And he looks </span>
  <em>
    <span>extremely</span>
  </em>
  <span> paranoid. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Were you followed?” Hazel asks, looking all around them at the trees and ancient stone. “If you brought your scroll, you should leave it a good ways away from here before we can talk.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t followed. I didn’t tell anyone where I was going.” Summer pulls out her scroll and jogs over to the edge of the clearing to rest it against the roots of a large tree, and gets a nod that that’s far enough. “What’s all this about?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hazel glances all around once more, but finds nothing. “Salem wants you dead,” he says, speaking in a low voice despite the fact they’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> alone. “You and anyone who tries to protect you. It’s because of your eyes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Those silver eyes widen considerably at his words. “I know I’m a target. Oz explained to me after the first time I used my eyes, on this </span>
  <em>
    <span>big</span>
  </em>
  <span> king taijitu that almost got Qrow. I’ve always figured if she ever found out, she might try to come for me, but there’s been nothing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s something now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you know?” Summer stops suddenly. “Wait, how do you </span>
  <em>
    <span>any</span>
  </em>
  <span> of this? About silver eyes, and Salem?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because…” Hazel casts his gaze downward. “Because I work for her. I have for quite a while now. I know she’s sent someone to kill you, because that someone is me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?!” Summer takes half a step back and one hand goes to the glaive folded across her back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hazel raises both hands empty as a show of peace. “Listen to me. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Salem doesn’t know</span>
  </em>
  <span> that we know each other! I am not going to hurt you, but you </span>
  <em>
    <span>must</span>
  </em>
  <span> fake your death. Right now.” A thought occurs to him. “Did you tell Ozpin </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span> about where you were going today? Or anyone?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Summer shakes her head. “I told my husband that I was going out on a mission to help an old friend. Nothing more.” She smiles ruefully. “I took your advice, you know. Married Tai for his baked goods. Raven too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good. And I’m sorry, but you </span>
  <em>
    <span>cannot</span>
  </em>
  <span> go back home again. You must let </span>
  <em>
    <span>everyone</span>
  </em>
  <span> think you have died on this mission. I am willing to lie to Her Grace this once, but I have to know you’ll back me up! You must disappear from the war, become invisible to both sides, or that lie will be exposed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why can’t I just go home and lay low for a while?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And never step outside, lest a spy be watching? Never let any person you know mention your name to another, where someone might hear and learn you’re alive? When it comes to silver-eyed warriors, Salem is very thorough. If I didn’t know better, I’d say it seems like she’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>afraid</span>
  </em>
  <span> of them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Summer throws up her hands. “I can’t just abandon everyone! I have a husband. I have two daughters!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And do either of </span>
  <em>
    <span>them</span>
  </em>
  <span> have silver eyes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Those few words have such a chilling effect on her that Summer stops short and forgets what she was previously going to say. “Ruby does,” she murmurs softly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then for her sake, disappear now and pray she never discovers what she can do.” Hazel shrugs helplessly. “I’m sorry it’s come to this, but this is your </span>
  <em>
    <span>one chance</span>
  </em>
  <span> to spare yourself and your entire family. I can keep my part of the secret. I know you can too, if you choose it. But if Ozpin knows, he will </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> want to let you go, and that </span>
  <em>
    <span>will</span>
  </em>
  <span> bring down Salem’s wrath on you all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pauses, with a pained look on his face. “Please, Summer. If I return and say anything other than that you’ve been eliminated from the war, next time she’ll send someone else. Probably the new guy with the scorpion tail. She won’t give up, you know this. She–”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.” Summer’s voice is barely audible now, and she stares off into the middle distance. “I wish there was any other way. I wish…” She hangs her head, and tears begin to leak from her eyes. “I can’t even send them a goodbye letter, or they’d know. But for Ruby… for everyone…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hazel pulls her into a hug and Summer returns it gratefully. Tears stain the front of his shirt, but neither moves to pull apart. After this, they both know, they won’t see each other again. Each can only hope that the other is safe, and can find happiness with the difficult path ahead of them. </span>
</p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>A week later and a continent away, Summer hikes through a forest not unlike the one below Beacon cliff. It wasn’t easy getting a lead in the depths of the Anima wilds, but the sight of a tall palisade ahead tells her that finally, she’s found the right place. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Two guards stand posted at the narrow gap in the wall. Each raises a gun as Summer approaches: military issue, but repainted and surely with the serial numbers filed off. Summer rests one hand on her glaive, but does not yet take it from its holster. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Halt! What business do you have here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Summer remains calm. “Is this the tribe led by Raven Branwen?” she asks. She’d known the twins were from a bandit tribe in roughly this area, and she’d long since guessed that’s where Raven had returned, but finding out she now </span>
  <em>
    <span>leads</span>
  </em>
  <span> the group was new. Luckily for her current purposes, Raven’s made a name for herself around here. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s it to you?” the guard spits. “You a huntress or something? Think you can take on all of us?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Summer gives the pair a disapproving tilt of the head. “It’s a simple enough yes or no. Is Raven Branwen here or not?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Say she is. What makes you think </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> can see her?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I don’t know, maybe the fact that I’m her </span>
  <em>
    <span>wife?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The two guards look to each other. There’s a long pause as neither speaks or makes a move, and then one slips inside the camp and leaves his partner alone at the gate. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In what Summer can see of the inside, people begin to gather. Most continue sweeping, chopping wood, giving the outward appearance of work, but every pair of eyes is focused on the gate, waiting. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then Raven steps into view, accompanied by the guard who’d fetched her. She stops short and mutters a few words, mostly to herself but still audible. “Oh my gods, it really is my wife…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raven raises her voice as she approaches the gap in the wall, stopping a few feet back from the edge. “Summer,” she greets. “What are you doing all the way out here? Bit late to be running after me, isn’t it?” She motions for her bandits to lower their weapons, but they stay nearby. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve come alone,” Summer says first. “Your brother is not watching. I have two questions for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raven quirks one eyebrow upward. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you have </span>
  <em>
    <span>any</span>
  </em>
  <span> contact with Oz, or with anyone Oz knows?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raven’s expression darkens. “No,” she says forcefully. “And I’m not going back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Summer only nods, pleased enough with the answer. “Do you have any contact with S–” She pauses. “With his enemy, or anyone </span>
  <em>
    <span>she</span>
  </em>
  <span> knows?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now Raven is just confused. “No, of course not! What’s this about, Summer?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perfect!” Summer grins, and starts toward the gate. “That’s exactly what I need. I’m staying. Joining the tribe, whatever you need me to do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And before Raven can even recover from the shock, she’s inside the camp and throwing her arms around her long-lost wife. Summer holds her tight and whispers into her ear, “There’s no escaping the hugs.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There is a long pause before Raven’s stiff posture finally begins to relax and she raises her arms to return the embrace. “No, I suppose there never was,” she mutters. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come with me,” Raven says as they pull apart, and leads Summer toward a large tent at the far end of the camp. When they enter, Raven immediately puts on a pot of tea. “And explain to me what has </span>
  <em>
    <span>happened</span>
  </em>
  <span> in the world to make you show up </span>
  <em>
    <span>here</span>
  </em>
  <span> like this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well,” Summer begins, “the short version is that I’ve just been assassinated.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raven laughs. “You what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been… well, I believe the term was </span>
  <em>
    <span>eliminated from the war.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Salem sent an agent after me, and now both sides believe I’m dead. And both sides need to </span>
  <em>
    <span>keep</span>
  </em>
  <span> believing I’m dead, or else my entire family as well as a childhood friend will probably be killed. So, here I am.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raven gapes at her as she pours the tea and they sit down at the low table. “You faked your death? Damn, Summer. I didn’t know you had it in you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve missed a lot since you left us. And I’ve missed you a lot. Tai and I have another daughter now, Ruby, and…” Summer takes a teacup, only to stare into it for a moment. “She has silver eyes like me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” Raven realizes immediately what the problem is. “That’s why she came after you, isn’t it? So if you still exist in her world, eventually she’ll learn about Ruby too.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly. And so… I had to leave them. Better Ruby and Yang grow up with a single father than not at all.” Summer takes a sip of tea. “But at least I’m not </span>
  <em>
    <span>entirely</span>
  </em>
  <span> alone, now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Something in Raven’s eyes softens, and she moves around the table to lean against Summer’s side. “No, you’re not,” she agrees. “It wasn’t easy leaving Yang, you know. But I had to get out, and I knew she’d be better off with you and Tai than if I brought her here. They’ll both be okay. Give them the normal life, while we do what we have to, to survive.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Summer nods and sets down her teacup, and puts her arms around Raven again. “I’ve missed you so much,” she whispers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve missed you too,” Raven echoes, saying aloud what she’d never admit to in front of the full tribe outside. “This isn’t the easiest life you’ve come to join…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But at least we have each other,” Summer finishes for her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“At least we still have each other.” Raven tilts her head up, gently brushes a stray strand of hair from Summer’s face, and leans in for a kiss.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Years later, Yang rides out to look for her mom, and is quite surprised to find <em>both</em> her moms.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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